Winding mechanism having platform for supporting spring motor driven vehicle

ABSTRACT

A wind-up mechanism for a spring-driven toy vehicle includes a housing having a vehicle support platform and a drive clutch rotatably mounted therein for releasably engaging and winding a spring-driven toy vehicle positioned on the platform. The rotatable clutch is driven in a predetermined direction to windup the spring driven toy through a first gear rotatably mounted in the housing coaxially of the clutch and operatively connected thereto for transmitting rotational movement to the clutch. A gear segment rotatably mounted in the housing and operatively connected to the first gear is pivotally connected to a winding handle and held in a relatively fixed position with respect to the handle segment by a tension spring which is operatively connected therebetween. The tension spring means permits the handle to pivot with respect to the gear segment when rotation of the clutch in the predetermined winding direction is resisted with a predetermined force by the spring driven toy so that rotation of the gear segment by the handle is stopped to prevent overwinding of the toy vehicle.

United States Patent 1 Nielsen et al.

[451 Aug. 7, 1973 WINDING MECHANISM HAVING PLATFORM FOR SUPPORTINGSPRING MOTOR DRIVEN VEHICLE [75] Inventors: Edwin A. Nielsen, Oceanside;

Benjamin Stopek, West Hempstead, both of N.Y. I

[73] Assignee: Ideal Toy Corporation Hollis, NY.

[22] Filed: Mar. 30, 1972 I 211 Appl. No.: 239,606 I Related US.Application Data [63] Continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 126,817, March22,

[52] US. Cl 46]] K, 46/39, 46/206, 1 185/39, 185/D1G. 1

[51] Int. Cl. A63h 33/00, A63h 17/26 [58] Field 01' Search 46/39, 202,206, 46/1 K; 185/D1G. 1, 10, 39, 40, 41

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,160,738 5/1939 Horn 46/393,621,607 11/1971 Morrison et al. 46/206 FOREIGN PAT ENTS ORAPPLICATIONS 678,578 7/1939 Gennany 4611 K 678,577 7/1939 Germany 46/1 KPrimary Examiner-F. Barry Shay Attorney-Richard M. Rabkin [5 7] ABSTRACTA wind-up mechanism for a spring-driven toy vehicle includes a housinghaving a vehicle support platform and a drive clutch rotatably mountedtherein for releasably engaging and winding a. spring-driven toy vehiclepositioned on the platform. The rotatable clutch is driven in apredetermined direction to wind'up the spring driven toy through a firstgear rotatably mounted in the housing coaxially of the clutch andoperatively connected thereto for transmitting rotational movement tothe clutch. A gear segment rotatably mounted in the housing andoperatively connected to the first gear is pivotally connected to awinding handle and held in a relatively fixed position with respect tothe handle segment by a tension spring which is operatively connectedtherebetween. The tension spring means permits the handle to pivot withrespect to the gear segment when rotation of the clutch in thepredetermined winding direction is resisted with a predetermined forceby the spring driven toy so that rotation of the gear segment by thehandle is stopped to prevent overwinding of the toy vehicle.

18 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures WINDING MECHANISM HAVING PLATFORM FORSUPPORTING SPRING MOTOR DRIVEN VEHICLE This application is acontinuation-in-part of our copending patent application Ser. No.126,817, filed Mar. 22, 1971, the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference.

The present invention relates to a spring wind-up device for use withtoys and in particular relates to a clutch mechanism for winding upspring-driven toy vehicles.

Spring drive mechanisms for toys, and in particular for toy vehicles,are well known and have been used for many years. Typically, the springsin such toys are wound up on an output drum which is rotated with a keythat fits into an extension of the output drum. These prior artarrangements have been substantially improved upon by the spring woundtoy and wind-up mechanism disclosed and claimed in our abovementionedpatent application.

The wind-up mechanism disclosed in our prior application has theadvantageous feature that the wind-up mechanism provides for a quickengagement and release capability between the wind-up mechanism and thetoy. This wind-up mechanism is particularly useful as a pit stop, inconnection with toy race vehicles or games, such as are moreparticularly disclosed in US. Pat. application Ser. No. 126,818, filedMar. 22, 1971, the disclosure of which is also incorporated herein byreference, in which the spring-driven toy vehicles must have theirsprings quickly'rewound during the course of a competitive race.

The present invention represents an improvement on the wind-up mechanismdisclosed in our prior application which assures the prevention ofoverwinding the spring in the toy vehicle.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the wind-upmechanism is utilized with a toy vehicle having a spring drive includinga spring and a driven hub mounted in the toy for rotation about an axisand operatively connected to the spring to wind the spring upon rotationof the driven hub in a predetermined direction. The wind-up mechanismitself includes a housing having a driven hub rotatably mounted thereinwith both the drive and the driven hub having complementary teethadapted to engage each other when the toy vehicle is placed on thehousing. As a result, the rotation of the driven hub is transferred tothe drive hub of the toy vehicle to wind'up the spring therein.

The housing of the wind-up mechanism includes a first gear rotatablymounted therein, coaxially of the driven hub, and operatively connectedthereto for transmitting rotational movement to the driving hub. Arotatable swing gear is mounted in the housing for selective movementinto and out of engagement with the first gear to selectively drive thatgear and thus the hub in the desired predetermined direction. The swinggear is in turn, driven and controlled by a gear segment which is alsorotatably mounted in the housing and pivotally connected to an operatinghandle which is utilized to rotate the gear segment.

A tension spring is operatively connected between the gear segment andthe handle in order to hold the handle in a relatively fixed positionwith respect to the gear segment so that arcuate motion of the handlerotates the gear segment during the winding of the toy. This springconnection also permits the handle to pivot with respect to the gearsegment when rotation of the driving hub and thus the gears in thewind-up mechanism is resisted with a predetermined force by the toy. Asa result, continued arcuate motion of the handle no longer rotates thegear segment and overwinding of the spring in the toy is prevented.

The above and other features and advantages of the invention will beapparent in the following detailed description of an illustrativeembodiment thereof which is to be read in connection with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wind-up mechanism constructed inaccordance with the present invention, illustrating in phantom lines, aspring driven toy vehicle seated on the wind-up mechanism; and

FIG. 2 is a bottom view, with parts broken away, illustrating the drivetrain of the wind-up mechanism.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, and initially to FIG. 1 thereof,it is seen that a spring wind-up mechanism l0, constructed in accordancewith the present invention, is shown in conjunction with a spring woundtoy vehicle 12 positioned thereon. The toy vehicle 12 may be constructedin accordance with the vehicles disclosed in the above-mentioned patentapplications and includes a vehicle body which encloses a spring adaptedto be wound on an output drum which is connected through a gear train tothe drive axle of the vehicles rear wheels 14. The output drum of thespring mechanism within vehicle 12 is provided with a driven clutch hub18 that extends axially downwardly from the output drum for engagementwith a driving clutch hub 20 in the windup mechanism 10.

In the present invention, wind-up mechanism 10 includes a housing 22which may be of molded plastic construction and which is formed with avehicle support platform 24 upon which toy vehicle 12 is positioned.Preferably, platform 12 is provided with a pair of wheel wells 26 whichreceive vehicle wheels 14 and locate the vehicle on platform 24 in apredetermined position such that its driven hub 18 will be engaged withdriving hub 20 of the wind-up mechanism. Thus, during use of the wind-upmechanism, driven hub 18 and driving hub 20 are automatically aligned bythe placement of the toy vehicle on the support platform 24. This isparticularly advantageous when the wind-up mechanism is used as a pitstop" in the racing type game described in the above-mentioned patentapplica tions since a substantial amount of time thus is saved inaligning hubs l8 and 20.

Both driven clutch hub 18 and driving clutch hub 20 are provided withaxially extending, coaxially distributed teeth 34 which are slantedcircumferentially and raked at reentrant angles to form recesses 36.When presented to each other, as seen in FIG. 1, the teeth 34 areoriented in opposite angular directions so that upon engagement, theteeth of each clutch hub fit within the recesses of the opposite clutchhub for positive drive of the output drum of the spring mechanismcontained within vehicle 12. Preferably, hubs l8 and 20 are molded of aplastic material, such as high impact polystyrene and the recesses 36are bounded by re-entrant surfaces 37, preferably cut along radial linesby a cutting tool to form angles of about 53.

Driving hub 20 is rotatably mounted in a recess 28 formed in platform 24and is integrally formed with a coaxial pinion or first gear 30, locatedbelow support platform 24. Gear 30 includes a shaft (not shown) whichextends downwardly therefrom and is rotatably mounted in a support plate32 secured in the underside of housing 22. It is also noted that plate32 is located at the lowermost portion of the housing and thereforeencloses gear 30 between it and platform 24. For clarity in illustratingthe invention, plate 32 has been broken away in parts in FIG. 2.

In order to rotate gear 30 and hub 20, in order to wind the springwithin vehicle 12, a gear train 36, including a swing gear 38, isprovided within housing 22. Swing gear 38 comprises a pair of integrallymolded gear members 40, 42, with the larger gear 40 adapted to bepositioned in meshing engagement with pinion gear 30. Gears 40, 42 areintegrally formed with a common shaft 44 which is rotatably mounted inan elongated slot 46 formed in base plate 32. Slot 46 permits the gearsto move from the position shown in FIG. 2, i.e., wherein gear 40 is inmeshing engagement with gear 30, to a position at the opposite end ofthe slot wherein shaft 44 is in engagement with the edge 48 of the slot,so that gear 40 is out of engagement with gear 30.

The positioning of shaft 44 in slot 46, and thus the engagement ornon-engagement of gear 40 with gear 30, is controlled, as more fullydescribed hereinafter, by a gear segment 50 which is rotatably mountedin housing 22 by a shaft or pin 52 secured in base 32. Gear segment 50forms an arcuate segment of approximately 180 and is pivotally connectedat one side of its pivot 52 to a rigid elongated handle 54 by a pivotpin 56. Handle 54 is also connected to gear segment 50 by a tensionspring 58 which is secured at one end 60 on a pin 62 formed on thehandle and is similarly secured at its opposite end 64 to a pin 66 ongear segment 50. It is noted that the point of connection of spring 58to gear 50 is on the side of its axis of rotation 52 which is oppositefrom the pivotal connection 56 between the gear segment and the handle.By this arrangement, handle 54 is normally maintained in a relativelyfixed position with respect to gear segment 50 so that arcuate motion ofthe handle causes rotation of gear 50 about axis 52.

To permit arcuate motion of the handle, that is, to permit the handleand gear segment 50 to pivot about pin 52, housing 22 is provided withan elongated slot 68 through which handle 54 extends. Thus, the handleis readily accessible for winding a vehicle placed on platform 24, andas a result, the platform need not be lifted to wind the vehicle. Forconvenience, a cylindrical handle 70 can be provided at the free end ofhandle 56 to facilitate movement of the latter in an arcuate path.

Slot 68 of of sufficient width to permit reciprocation of handle 56between the solid line position and the dotted line position at theextreme right of FIG. 2. The arcuate path between these two positions isthe normal path of motion of the handle during wind-up of the toyvehicle. In one embodiment of the invention a resilient or cushionedannular bumper 72 may be mounted on platform 32 to define the extremelimit of movement of handle 56, to the left, as seen in the drawing.This cushion will prevent engagement with the edge of the slot anddamage to the handle in this direction.

The winding direction of rotation for hub is illustrated in both FIGS. 1and 2 by the arrow A. This direction is in the direction of the inclineof the teeth 34 formed on hub 20 and assures engagement between theteeth of hub 20 with those of the driven hub 18. In

order to rotate hub 20 and thus gear 30 in the direction of arrow A, Le,counterclockwise as seen in FIG. 2, handle 54 is rotated from the solidline position illustrated in FIG. 2 towards the right, i.e., in acounterclockwise direction, indicated by arrow 65. This motion of handle54 causes gear segment 50 to rotate in a counterclockwise directionabout its pivotal mounting 52. The torque applied to gear 42 by therotation of gear 40, causes the gear to rotate in a clockwise directionand also causes its shaft 44 to move to its position in slot 46 as shownin FIG. 2. This causes gear 40 to be placed in meshing engagement withgear 30 to drive that gear and thus hub 20 for winding of vehicle 12.

Upon reaching the extreme end of its motion towards the right in FIG. 2,handle 54 is returned to the left in order to repeat the winding motion.This return motion, from the extreme dotted line position shown in theright in FIG. 2 to the solid line position, causes gear 50 to rotate ina clockwise direction thereby rotating gears 40 and 42 in acounterclockwise direction. As a result, the torque now applied to gear42 by gear 50 causes shaft 44 to move upwardly, towards edge 48 of slot46. Thus, gear 40 is moved out of engagement with gear 30 so that thelatter gear and hub 20 are no longer driven during this portion of themotion of handle 54. It is noted that slot 46 is formed to besubstantially concentric with the gear 50 so that gear 42 and gear 50are always maintained in engagement, irrespective of the position ofshaft 44 in the slot.

In use, vehicle 12 is held with one hand against platform 24 and thefrictional engagement between wheels 14 and platform 24 resists anytendency of the spring within vehicle 12 to unwind during movement ofhandle 54 from the right to the left in the drawing.

The above described procedure of oscillating handle 54 about pivot 52 isrepeated until the spring in vehicle 12 is fully wound. At this point,as described in the above mentioned patent applications, an interferencetooth and segment in a pair of gears in the gear train of the vehicleare engaged to limit further winding of the spring therein. As a resultof the engagement of the interference tooth and segment and the geartrain within vehicle 12, a force is applied through the gear train ofthe vehicle to driven hub 18 which resists further winding of thespring. This force is transmitted through the gear train 36 in wind-upmechanism 10 to stall the gears therein and prevent further rotationthereof.

As a result of this stalling of gear train 36, i.e., as a result of theresistance to movement of the gears in the gear train, further forceapplied to handle 54 to move the handle it its counterclockwise windingdirection causes the handle to pivot with respect to gear 50 about itspivotal connection 56. As a result of the pivotal motion of handle 54with respect to gear 50, no force is applied to the gear which wouldtend to rotate it and overcome the resistance force applied by the geartrain in the vehicle. Thus, overtorquing or winding of the motor andgear train in the vehicle is avoided.

It is noted that spring 58 has a spring tension which is predeterminedwith respect to the resistance force applied by the spring drivemechanism of the vehicle, so that when that resistance force is reached,the tension force of spring 58 which nonnally holds the handle 54 in arelatively fixed position with respect to gear segment 50 is overcomeand to permit the above described pivotal motion of the handle withrespect to the gear segment. I

Normally, engagement of the interference tooth and segment in vehicle 12can occur at any point during the motion of handle 54 towards the rightin FIG. 2, depending upon the relative position of the interferencetooth and segment in the toy vehicle when the winding operation began.Should this resistive force occur at some point other than the solidline position of handle 54 illustrated in FIG. 2, the tendency of theoperator of the device would be to return the handle to the solid lineposition and again try to apply additional winding force to the handle.However, because of the resistive force applied by the vehicle, thegears 30, 40 and 50 cannot be rotated and handle 54 will again pivotabout axis 56 away from gear 50. The amount of permitted pivotal motionis limited, however, by the provision of a cylindrical stop member 74 onthe uppermost side of handle 54 and a cooperating stop surface 76 formedon the lower surface of platform 24. These stops are positioned toengage each other when pivotal motion of handle 54 about pivot 56 beginsat or near the solid line position of handle 54 so that the handle canmove to an intermediate position 77 as shown in the drawing. Thisprevents overstretching of spring 58 which would ei ther damage thespring or increase the force applied to gear segment 50, forcing thegears in gear train 36 to rotate and thereby damaging the gear train invehicle 12.

It should be noted that during the normal operation of the wind-upmechanism, that is, when gear segment 50 is held against handle 54 byspring 58, stop member 74 will bypass stop wall 76 because of itsarcuate mo tion with handle 54, along the path (indicated by a dottedline in the drawing). When the device is stalled, the axis of rotationof handle 54 changes from pivot 52 to pivot 56 so that the arcuate pathof stop 74 changes and causes the stop to move into engagement with thesurface 76.

In operation of the pit stop winding mechanism of the present invention,the wind-up mechanism remains flat on the floor and only vehicle 12 ismoved, for the fastest possible winding operation. This is important inthe racing type games described in the aboveidentified applications.Vehicle 12 is placed on platform 24 with its wheels 16 in wheel wells 26so that its driven hub 18 is automatically placed in meshing engagementwith the hub 20. The handle 54 is then operated from the side of thewind-up mechanism to rotate hub 20 and thus hub 18, in order to wind thespring mechanism within vehicle 12. Because of the configuration ofteeth 34, on the respective hubs, the vehicle is retained against theplatform 24 and the interaction between the re-entrant surfaces 37 ofthe hubs is effective to maintain engagement therebetween, especiallyduring vigorous winding, when disengagement might otherwise be aproblem.

Rotation of lever 54 in the direction of arrow 65 causes swing gear 40,as described above, to move into engagement with the driven pinion orgear and rotate driving hub 20. A clockwise return movement of handle 54is accompanied by disengaging movement of gear 40 whereby it is movedaway from gear 30. In this manner, repeated arcuate movements of handle54 back and forth between the two extreme positions illustrated in thedrawing provides-a desired plurality of consecutive one-way rotations ofdriving hub 20 to wind toy vehicle 12. After winding, manual lifting ofthe vehicle causes a reaction between re-entrant surfaces 37 to producea simple and effortless angular and axial displacement of hubs 18 and20, with no special attention required.

After the spring in vehicle 12 has been wound to a point where theinterference segments in its gear train have moved into contact witheach other, further actuation of lever 56 results in movement of handle54 with respect to gear segment so that no further winding force isapplied to the gears. In this manner, damage to the gears in the wind-upmechanism and to the spring drive mechanism of the vehicle is avoided.

Accordingly, it is seen that a wind-up mechanism constructed inaccordance with the present invention has many advantages. The axiallyextending teeth in the clutch hubs engage and disengage with utmostspeed and ease and without the need for any attention specificallydirected thereto. The vertical toy retention feature is useful inprecluding disengagement despite vigorous winding. Further, the geartrains in both the wind-up mechanism and the vehicle itself areprotected against damage by overwinding by an accurate spring tensionedsystem provided in the wind-up mechanism which will be overcome when apredetermined resistance force is applied to the wind-up mechanism bythe spring drive contained within the vehicle. The spring force can beaccurately determined and therefore the tension spring 58 which controlsthe operation of the wind-up mechanism can be provided with the propersize and dimensions to produce the required force levels within thewind-up mechanism.

Although an illustrative embodiment of the present invention has beendescribed herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is tobe understood that the invention is not limited to that preciseembodiment and that various changes and modifications may be effectedtherein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope orspirit of this invention.

What is claimed is:

I. A wind-up mechanism for a spring-driven toy vehicle comprising, ahousing having a vehicle supporting platform, drive clutch meansrotatably mounted in said housing for releasably engaging and windingthe springdriven toy vehicle when said vehicle is located on saidplatform and means for rotating said clutch in a predetermined directionto wind up said spring-driven toy vehicle, said rotating means includinga first gear rotatably mounted in said housing coaxially of said clutchand operatively connected thereto for transmitting rotational movementto the clutch, a gear segment rotatably mounted in said housing andoperatively connected to said first gear, a winding handle pivotallyconnected to said gear segment, and tension spring means operativelyconnected between said gear segment and said handle for holding saidhandle in a relatively fixed position with respect to said gear segmentduring wind-up of said vehicle and for permitting said handle to pivotwith respect to said gear segment when rotation of said clutch in saidpredetermined direction is resisted with a predetermined force by saidspringdriven toy vehicle whereby arcuate movement of said handlenormally rotates said gear segment to wind said toy vehicles androtation of said gear segment by said handle is stopped to preventoverwindingof the springdriven toy vehicle when said vehicle is fullywound.

2. The wind-up mechanism as defined in claim 1 including an intermediateswing gear operatively connecting said first gear and said gear segment,said housing having a slot and said swing gear being rotatably mountedin said slot for movement into and out of engagement with said firstgear in response to the direction of rotation of said gear segmentwhereby said clutch is rotated only in said predetermined direction uponactuation of said handle.

3. The wind-up mechanism as defined in claim 2 wherein said housing hasa second elongated slot through which said handle extends for movementin a limited arc.

4. The wind-up mechanism as defined in claim 3 wherein said handle andsaid housing have cooperating abutment members positioned inpredetermined locations for limiting the pivotal movement of said handlewith respect to said gear segment when rotation of said clutch in saidpredetermined direction is resisted with said predetermined force bysaid spring-driven toy vehicle.

5. The wind-up mechanism as defined in claim 3 wherein said clutchcomprises a generally cylindrical hub member having a plurality ofconcentrically arranged teeth formed thereon about the axis of rotationof the hub for releasably engaging the spring driven toy vehicle duringwind-up thereof.

6. The wind-up mechanism as defined in claim 5 wherein said toy vehicleincludes a driven hub having teeth enaging said teeth of said clutchhub, said teeth on said hubs having a complementary configuration andbeing releasably vertically interlocking to retain the toy vehiclevertically on said platform in response to winding torque.

7. The wind-up mechanism as defined in claim 3 including cushioned stopmeans mounted in said housing adjacent one end of said elongated slot tolimit the arcuate movement of said handle.

8. The wind-up mechanism as defined in claim 2 wherein said slot issubstantially concentric with said gear segment whereby said swing gearalways remains in meshed engagement with said gear segment.

9. The wind-up mechanism as defined in claim 2 including means on saidplatform for locating a toy vehicle placed thereon in a predeterminedposition with respect to said clutch.

10. The wind-up mechanism as defined in claim 2,

wherein said tension spring means is connected to said gear segment onthe opposite side of its axis of rotation from its pivotal connection tosaid handle.

11. A toy and wind-up mechanism therefore comprising, in combination, atoy having a spring drive including a spring, a driven hub mounted inthe toy for rotation about an axis and operatively connected to saidspring to wind the spring upon rotation of the driven hub in a firstdirection, said driven hub having a pluraity of concentrically arrangedteeth extending therefrom about the axis of rotation of the driven hub;and a wind-up mechanism including a housing and a driving hub rotatablymounted in the housing, said driving hub having a plurality ofconcentrically arranged teeth extending therefrom about the axis ofrotation of the driving hub, the teeth of each of said hubs beingcomplementary to each other and located on the axial end of theirrespective hubs for axial engagement with the teeth of the other hubupon placing the toy on the housing with the driving and driven hubsaxially aligned, and means for rotating said driving hub in apredetermined direction to wind said spring, including a first gearrotatably mounted in said housing coaxially of said driving hub andoperatively connected thereto for transmitting rotational movement tosaid driving hub, a rotatable swing gear mounted in said housing forselective movement into and out of engagement with said first gear, agear segment rotatably mounted on said housing and operatively engagedwith said swing gear, a winding handle pivotally connected to said gearsegment, and tension spring means operatively connected between saidgear segment and said handle for holding said handle in a relativelyfixed position with respect to the gear segment, whereby arcuatemovement of said handle rotates said gear segment during winding of saidtoy, and for permitting said handle to pivot with respect to said gearsegment when rotation of said driving hub in said predetermineddirection is resisted with a predetermined force by said toy to preventoverwinding of said spring, said gear segment moving said swing gearinto engagement with said first gear when said handle is moved from itsfirst to its second position and moving said swing gear out ofengagement with said first gear when said handle is returned from itssecond to its first position, whereby said driving hub is driven only insaid predetermined direction during actuation of said handle.

12. The combination as defined in claim 11 wherein said housing has aslot formed therein, said swing gear being rotatably mounted in saidslot for selective movement and said slot being substantially concentricwith said gear segment whereby said swing gear always remains in meshedengagement with said gear segment.

13. The combination as defined in claim 12 wherein said housing has asecond elongated slot through which said handle extends for movement ina limited arc.

14. The combination as defined in claim 13 wherein said handle and saidhousing have cooperating abutment members positioned in predeterminedlocations for limiting the pivotal movement of said handle with respectto said gear segment when rotation of said driving hub in saidpredetermined direction is resisted with said predetermined force bysaid spring-driven toy vehicle.

15. The combination as defined in claim 14 including cushioned stopmeans mounted in said housing adjacent one end of said elongated slot tolimit the arcuate movement of said handle.

16. The combination as defined in claim 15 including means on saidhousing for locating said toy in a predetermined position wherein saiddriven and driving hubs are in meshed engagement.

17. The combination as defined in claim 16 wherein the teeth on each ofsaid hubs slant in mutually complementary circumferential directions toform re-entrant capturing recesses for receiving the teeth of the otherhub thereby to provide simultaneously both positive angular engagementbetween hubs and axial retention of the toy to the winding mechanism.

18. The combination as defined in claim 17 wherein said tension springmeans is connected to said gear segment on the opposite side of its axisof rotation from its pivotal connection to said handle.

I i I t t

1. A wind-up mechanism for a spring-driven toy vehicle comprising, ahousing having a vehicle supporting platform, drive clutch meansrotatably mounted in said housing for releasably engaging and windingthe spring-driven toy vehicle when said vehicle is located on saidplatform and means for rotating said clutch in a predetermined directionto wind up said spring-driven toy vehicle, said rotating means includinga first gear rotatably mounted in said housing coaxially of said clutchand operatively connected thereto for transmitting rotational movementto the clutch, a gear segment rotatably mounted in said housing andoperatively connected to said first gear, a winding handle pivotallyconnected to said gear segment, and tension spring means operativelyconnected between said gear segment and said handle for holding saidhandle in a relatively fixed position with respect to said gear segmentduring wind-up of said vehicle and for permitting said handle to pivotwith respect to said gear segment when rotation of said clutch in saidpredetermined direction is resisted with a predetermined force by saidspringdriven toy vehicle whereby arcuate movement of said handlenormally rotates said gear segment to wind said toy vehicles androtation of said gear segment by said handle is stopped to preventoverwinding of the spring-driven toy vehicle when said vehicle is fullywound.
 2. The wind-up mechanism as defined in claim 1 including anintermediate swing gear operatively connecting said first gear and saidgear segment, said housing having a slot and said swing gear beingrotatably mounted in said slot for movement into and out of engagementwith said first gear in response to the direction of rotation of saidgear segment whereby said clutch is rotated only in said predetermineddirection upon actuation of said handle.
 3. The wind-up mechanism asdefined in claim 2 wherein said housing has a second elongated slotthrough which said handle extends for movement in a limited arc.
 4. Thewind-up mechanism as defined in claim 3 wherein said handle and saidhousing have cooperating abutment members positioned in predeterminedlocations for limiting the pivotal movement of said handle with respectto said gear segment when rotation of said clutch in said predetermineddirection is resisted with said predetermined force by saidspring-driven toy vehicle.
 5. The wind-up mechanism as defined in claim3 wherein said clutch comprises a generally cylindrical hub memberhaving a plurality of concentrically arranged teeth formed thereon aboutthe axis of rotation of the hub for releasably engaging the springdriven toy vehicle during wind-up thereof.
 6. The wind-up mechanism asdefined in claim 5 wherein said toy vehicle includes a driven hub havingteeth enaging said teeth of said clutch hub, said teeth on said hubshaving a complementary configuration and being releasably verticallyinterlocking to retain the toy vehicle vertiCally on said platform inresponse to winding torque.
 7. The wind-up mechanism as defined in claim3 including cushioned stop means mounted in said housing adjacent oneend of said elongated slot to limit the arcuate movement of said handle.8. The wind-up mechanism as defined in claim 2 wherein said slot issubstantially concentric with said gear segment whereby said swing gearalways remains in meshed engagement with said gear segment.
 9. Thewind-up mechanism as defined in claim 2 including means on said platformfor locating a toy vehicle placed thereon in a predetermined positionwith respect to said clutch.
 10. The wind-up mechanism as defined inclaim 2 wherein said tension spring means is connected to said gearsegment on the opposite side of its axis of rotation from its pivotalconnection to said handle.
 11. A toy and wind-up mechanism thereforecomprising, in combination, a toy having a spring drive including aspring, a driven hub mounted in the toy for rotation about an axis andoperatively connected to said spring to wind the spring upon rotation ofthe driven hub in a first direction, said driven hub having a pluraityof concentrically arranged teeth extending therefrom about the axis ofrotation of the driven hub; and a wind-up mechanism including a housingand a driving hub rotatably mounted in the housing, said driving hubhaving a plurality of concentrically arranged teeth extending therefromabout the axis of rotation of the driving hub, the teeth of each of saidhubs being complementary to each other and located on the axial end oftheir respective hubs for axial engagement with the teeth of the otherhub upon placing the toy on the housing with the driving and driven hubsaxially aligned, and means for rotating said driving hub in apredetermined direction to wind said spring, including a first gearrotatably mounted in said housing coaxially of said driving hub andoperatively connected thereto for transmitting rotational movement tosaid driving hub, a rotatable swing gear mounted in said housing forselective movement into and out of engagement with said first gear, agear segment rotatably mounted on said housing and operatively engagedwith said swing gear, a winding handle pivotally connected to said gearsegment, and tension spring means operatively connected between saidgear segment and said handle for holding said handle in a relativelyfixed position with respect to the gear segment, whereby arcuatemovement of said handle rotates said gear segment during winding of saidtoy, and for permitting said handle to pivot with respect to said gearsegment when rotation of said driving hub in said predetermineddirection is resisted with a predetermined force by said toy to preventoverwinding of said spring, said gear segment moving said swing gearinto engagement with said first gear when said handle is moved from itsfirst to its second position and moving said swing gear out ofengagement with said first gear when said handle is returned from itssecond to its first position, whereby said driving hub is driven only insaid predetermined direction during actuation of said handle.
 12. Thecombination as defined in claim 11 wherein said housing has a slotformed therein, said swing gear being rotatably mounted in said slot forselective movement and said slot being substantially concentric withsaid gear segment whereby said swing gear always remains in meshedengagement with said gear segment.
 13. The combination as defined inclaim 12 wherein said housing has a second elongated slot through whichsaid handle extends for movement in a limited arc.
 14. The combinationas defined in claim 13 wherein said handle and said housing havecooperating abutment members positioned in predetermined locations forlimiting the pivotal movement of said handle with respect to said gearsegment when rotation of said driving hub in said predetermineddirection is resisted with said predetermined force by saidspring-driven toy vehicle.
 15. The combination as defined in claim 14including cushioned stop means mounted in said housing adjacent one endof said elongated slot to limit the arcuate movement of said handle. 16.The combination as defined in claim 15 including means on said housingfor locating said toy in a predetermined position wherein said drivenand driving hubs are in meshed engagement.
 17. The combination asdefined in claim 16 wherein the teeth on each of said hubs slant inmutually complementary circumferential directions to form re-entrantcapturing recesses for receiving the teeth of the other hub thereby toprovide simultaneously both positive angular engagement between hubs andaxial retention of the toy to the winding mechanism.
 18. The combinationas defined in claim 17 wherein said tension spring means is connected tosaid gear segment on the opposite side of its axis of rotation from itspivotal connection to said handle.